Each of the categories covered in our Top Products report features a Top Launch – the product most significant to its respective category in 2023.
This is every Top Launch and why we chose it.
Check out our main feature with a full breakdown of category performance here
Baby & Infant Food
Mac & Cheese | Little Dish/Felix Project
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Little Dish’s pledge to donate free meals to kids in need has struck a chord. Since the July launch of its ‘buy one, donate one’ Mac & Cheese in partnership with The Felix Project, the brand has given more than 125,000 meals to the food redistribution charity. The aim is to drum up half a million free meals through sales. And that’s not the only way Mac & Cheese (rsp: £2.85/200g) does good. It also provides one of a child’s 5 a day due to the inclusion of butternut squash and sweet potato.
Bagged Snacks
Graze Peri-Peri Crunch | Unilever
This HFSS-compliant snack – the result of nine months’ R&D – takes flavour cues from Portuguese cuisine. Added in April, it’s a blend of roasted corn, peas and broad beans, seasoned with paprika, salt, garlic, dried onion, dried tomato, black pepper and chilli powder. Billed by Graze as a “category first” and backed by a £6m marketing spend, it’s available in both a single-serve 28g punnet (rsp: £1.20) and a 100g sharing bag (rsp: £2.50).
Beauty
Future Renew | Boots
Nearly 100,000 shoppers had joined the waiting list for the Boots Future Renew Range before its official launch in April. Being own label and science-led, it certainly plays to the key trends in the market. The range of four skincare products – a serum, eye serum, night cream and day cream – uses a “world-first ‘super peptide’ blend” to reverse the visible signs of skin damage. Boots says it is the fastest-selling No7 product range since records began. Prices start at £24.95 for the eye serum.
Beer & Cider
Black Heart | BrewDog
BrewDog parked its tanks on Guinness’s lawn in February with the launch of Black Heart nitro stout. The 4.1% brew rolled into Tesco with the claim that stout choices were “not so black and white anymore”. Black Heart has so far racked up £2.9m – with sales rocketing 30% after a wider rollout in September, according to BrewDog. The beer is also successfully recruiting new drinkers to craft beer. The brewer says at least one in five Black Heart buyers go on to make a repeat purchase in the sector.
Biscuits & Cakes
McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes Raspberry | Pladis
‘Jaffanatics’ are folks who can’t get enough Jaffa Cakes, according to McVitie’s. In August, it promised to rock their world with the launch of Jaffa Cakes Rockin’ Raspberry. This is a timely launch for Jaffa Cakes – raspberry flavours are hot property in confectionery and cakes right now, and the brand could certainly do with some loving after suffering a steep decline in the wake of average price rises. Pladis says Rockin’ Raspberry has struck a chord with shoppers – rock on!
Bottled Water
Liquid Death | Liquid Death
In April, trendy US water supplier Liquid Death added the “first-ever celebrity-endorsed luxury enema” in partnership with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. That same week, the $130m (£105m) brand announced it was to make its UK debut via Amazon. By August it had bagged listings in Co-op and Nisa for Mountain Water, Sparkling Water (rsp: £1.99), Mango Chainsaw and Severed Lime (rsp: £2.49). They’re now in Tesco, too – in a 500ml can bearing the strapline ‘Murder your thirst’.
Bread
Soft Naans | Warburtons
Warburtons has spent £400m on innovation in the past decade. Most recently, that’s culminated in the summer launch of this convenient naan. The square Soft Naans (rsp: £1.50/4x57g) can be popped in a toaster and warmed in under two minutes. As well as being an accompaniment for curries, they work well as a pizza base or as a snack, Warbies says. And they’ve gone down a storm with shoppers, adds sales director Colin Bebbington. “There is a real appreciation for their versatility.”
Butters & Spreads
Flora Buttery | Upfield
In October 2020, Flora reintroduced buttermilk to its Buttery variant. The decision, which came after 18 months of being dairy-free, outraged vegans. So this year, it went 100% plant-based once again. The revamped Flora Buttery variant – which hit mults in September – boasts an all-new recipe of rapeseed, sunflower and linseed oils, and a pack design that mirrors Flora’s alt-dairy Plant B+tter range. Crucially, the reformulated spread has retained its buttery taste, the brand promises.
Canned
Heinz Culinary Tomatoes | Kraft Heinz
Heinz sought to tap the home-cooking craze in July with Culinary Tomatoes. The 11-strong lineup includes cooking sauce, tomato purée and, perhaps most significantly, the brand’s first foray into tinned tomatoes. The launch provides “something for everyone, regardless of their cooking skills”, according to Heinz. It was developed based on research that found that seven of the UK’s top 10 favourite dishes were tomato-based, from pizza to chicken bhuna.
Confectionery
Rowntree’s non-HFSS gummies | Nestlé
Berry Hearts, Safari Mix, Gummy Bears and Jelly Snakes (rsp: £1.35/115g) are about as close to perfection as confectionery has come for a while. Not only do they taste great, but they’re also made with real fruit juice and contain 30% less sugar than similar sweets. That means they’re not subject to the HFSS regulations that have banned most confectionery lines from impulse fixtures. Sales have exceeded £7m since launch in January, says Nestlé, with Berry Hearts delivering nearly £3m of that.
Cereal
Kit Kat Cereal | Cereal Partners
Kit Kat Cereal hit supermarket shelves in April to much fanfare. And plenty of criticism. The crispy wheat squares with a milk chocolate-flavoured coating (rsp: £3.50/330g) were bashed by health campaigners, who said the product flew in the face of HFSS legislation. On social media, former health tsar Henry Dimbleby claimed marketing of the cereal – as “tasty and nutritious” – was misleading. Owner Nestlé waved him away, adding Kit Kat Cereal was “an occasional, indulgent breakfast option”.
Chocolate
Toblerone Truffles | Mondelez
Triangular treat Toblerone took on a new shape in July. It rolled out these individually wrapped diamond-shaped chocolate truffles with a “velvety centre” and tiny pieces of crunchy honey & almond nougat. But that’s not the only reason why Truffles (rsp: £6.09/180g) is our chocolate launch of the year. The innovation is a savvy response to the ongoing changes in how Brits consume chocolate. Single bars and on-the-go bags are out; premium gifts are in. So Truffles is bang on trend.
Cheese
Cathedral City Our Red Leicester | Saputo
The UK’s biggest cheese brand took a bold step away from its cheddar heartland in September with the launch of its first-ever red leicester block (rsp: £4.75/300g). Rolling into Sainsbury’s as part of Cathedral City’s nascent Our Best of British range, it was described as a “momentous occasion” by Neil Stewart, head of marketing at owner Saputo Dairy UK. At the same time, Cathedral City added Our Naturally Smoked Cheddar – another first for the brand.
Cooking Sauces
Filippo Berio Pasta Sauce | Salov
Filippo Berio has been a name in olive oil for nearly 200 years. It’s now establishing itself in cooking sauces with the January launch of its four-strong pasta sauce range, which scooped three Grocer New Product Awards. Coming on the heels of last year’s hit Pesto lineup, the posh sauces comprise Basil, Arrabbiata, Grilled Vegetable and Olive (rsp: £2.89/340g). “We decided to create a range of authentic pasta sauces that taste homemade,” says Filippo Berio UK CEO Walter Zanre.
Confectionery
Rowntree’s non-HFSS gummies | Nestlé
Berry Hearts, Safari Mix, Gummy Bears and Jelly Snakes (rsp: £1.35/115g) are about as close to perfection as confectionery has come for a while. Not only do they taste great, but they’re also made with real fruit juice and contain 30% less sugar than similar sweets. That means they’re not subject to the HFSS regulations that have banned most confectionery lines from impulse fixtures. Sales have exceeded £7m since launch in January, says Nestlé, with Berry Hearts delivering nearly £3m of that.
Dairy Drinks
B.O.B Semi-Skimmed | Arla
True innovation is rare in milk, but it’s not impossible to reinvent the white stuff for a modern audience. Arla did so in 2016 with Best of Both – offering the fat content of skimmed and the taste of semi-skimmed. It went a step further in January this year with a semi-skimmed variant that “tastes like whole milk”. B.O.B Semi-Skimmed (rsp: £2.50/two litres) has helped the brand grow penetration, Arla says, and is “trading shoppers up to added value milk”.
Eggs
Rich Yolk | St Ewe Free Range
Cornish producer St Ewe’s Rich Yolk range features eggs “praised by acclaimed chefs and consumers alike for their flavour and colour”. The lineup arrived in June as a box of six in standard (rsp: £2.50) and Opulent (rsp: 3.50) – the latter variant promising an even richer hue of yolk. Both come in a non-traditional carton that took more than 10 years to develop. It boasts an enhanced structural integrity “to safeguard the eggs from packing centre to consumers’ kitchens”.
Fresh produce
Unbeleafable | GrowUp Farms
Vertical farm operator GrowUp Farms has expanded its supermarket range with bagged salad brand Unbeleafable. Three lines of ready-to-eat salads – Crisp Green Leaves, Mixed Baby Leaves and Rocket & Baby Leaves (rsp: £1.50/90g) – went into Tesco in July. All are grown in a vertical farm in Kent, which creates the “perfect growing conditions” without the use of pesticides or washing in chlorine. This results in a longer shelf life than other bagged salads, the business says.
Frozen
Itsu sweet bao buns | Itsu Grocery
Itsu launched its “game-changing” frozen sweet bao buns in March. The two vegan variants – Chocolate and Salted Caramel (rsp: £3.50/four) – are packed with melt in the middle fillings. They can be steamed or microwaved from frozen, meeting demand for convenient restaurant-quality treats at home, says Itsu. The buns took a year to develop. “After more than 50 trials, we managed to get rich chocolate and miso salted caramel to flow from a fluffy bao bun,” explains founder Julian Metcalfe.
Haircare
Bond Repair | L’Oréal Elvive
Bond repair is a big claim in haircare. Just ask US brand Olaplex, which stormed onto the UK market in 2015 with patented technology that promises to repair and strengthen strands. Now Elvive is bringing that claim to the high street. Its four-strong Bond Repair range uses a citric acid complex to target damaged hair and “restore its original strength”. It comprises pre-shampoo, sulphate-free shampoo, conditioner and serum. A 200ml bottle of the shampoo comes at £12 in Boots and Tesco.
Home Baking
Baked Collection | Naksha Collections
Unveiled in July, this two-strong Baked Collection lineup is “inspired by the sensuous flavours of Arabia and the Middle East”, says Naksha Collections. Milk Chocolate Blondies with Lebanese Tahini (rsp: £12.99/685g) and Dark Chocolate Fondant with Turkish coffee (rsp: £10.49/280g) are made with “authentic ingredients from the UAE, Turkey and Lebanon”. The lines allow home bakers to make exotic treats “with no fuss, no waste, and minimum mess”.
Hot Beverages
PG Tips relaunch | Lipton Teas & Infusions
PG Tips was once a pop culture touchstone thanks to the anthropomorphic chimpanzees in its TV ads. In later years, however, its presence and sales both waned. Then Unilever sold the brand to Lipton Teas & Infusions. Enter a new blend that provides “a brighter, smoother more consistent” cuppa in less than a minute. It’s just one aspect of a two-year, £50m relaunch for PG Tips, also encompassing biodegradable teabags and refreshed packaging across Original, Gold and Decaf.
Household Cleaning
Domestos Power Foam | Unilever
Domestos Power Foam made its debut in January as the UK’s “first-to-market, non-bleach, multi-use foaming spray for the toilet and bathroom”. The Arctic Fresh and Citrus Blast (rsp: £3/450ml) variants come in a bottle made from 50% post-consumer recycled plastic, which is also recyclable once the trigger and sleeve are removed. The trigger works when the bottle is upside down, allowing the germ-killing, limescale-blasting foam to be dispensed even in the most difficult-to-reach spots.
Household Paper
Retail range | Who Gives a Crap
Sustainable brand Who Gives a Crap secured a listing with Waitrose in May, marking a bricks & mortar first for the fast-growing DTC business. Four SKUs – bamboo toilet paper in four-pack and eight-pack, an eight-pack of recycled toilet paper, and recycled facial tissues (rsps: £1.65-£9.99) – rolled into 240 of the retailer’s stores. The attractively packaged range will preserve more than 133,000 sq m of forest in its first 18 months, Who Gives a Crap predicts.
Ice Cream
Refreshos | Little Moons
Little Moons unveiled its first sorbet product in January: Refreshos. Touted as a “first-to-market mochi sorbet”, the frozen snack debuted in Asda with Very Berry and Pineapple & Mandarin (rsp: £4.80/6x32g) – both made with the brand’s signature mochi dough. They’re HFSS-compliant, vegan and gluten-free, providing fewer than 59 kcals per ball. “We’re constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation,” says Little Moons co-founder Howard Wong.
Jams & Spreads
Sea Salted Caramel Almond | Pip & Nut
Pip & Nut tapped the affordable indulgence trend with the launch of this limited-edition line in July. Sea Salted Caramel Almond Butter (rsp: £3.50/170g) is a collaboration with Hackney Gelato, inspired by the luxury ice cream brand’s Almond Butter Gelato. With flavours of toffee caramel, sea salt and Mexican agave, it can be spread on pancakes or poured on overnight oats for a decadent breakfast. Or, as Pip & Nut suggests, wait for evening to drizzle on a bowl of Hackney Gelato.
Juices & Smoothies
Revamped dosing bottle | Moju
Moju went bold with this gorgeous redesign in March. It’s a “unique and memorable flask-style structure” that evokes vintage medicine bottles. The 420ml pack features debossed dosing lines to make measuring out shots easy. The overhaul been supported by Moju’s first-ever ATL campaign and a £1m-plus sponsorship of Channel 4’s breakfast programming. Plus, the bottle bagged a silver in the pack design category of The Grocer’s New Product & Packaging Awards 2023.
Meat-free
Redefine Meat | Redefine Meat
Meat alternative maker Redefine Meat secured its first major UK retail listing in November, via Ocado. Six products launched into the retailer: Pulled Pork, Pulled Beef, Bratwurst, Lamb Kofta, Premium Burger and Beef Mince (rsps: £4-£4.50). While the trendy brand has become known for its 3D-printed whole cuts, the products at Ocado are made using traditional production processes and ingredients. Still, they offer the same taste and texture as animal meat, Redefine Meat promises.
Meat, fish & poultry
Bistro Bakes | Mowi UK
Mowi made its debut in added-value fish in April with Bistro Bakes, rolling it into Sainsbury’s and Asda. Salmon Pastries, Salmon & Cheese Melts, Salmon & Spicy Tomato Bake, and Zesty Salmon Roasting Joint (rsps: from £4.50) are targeted at shoppers who want restaurant-quality meals at home. “Salmon is such a versatile fish, but not everyone has the confidence or the time to prepare it,” said Robin Brown, Mowi head of development, in the spring. “We’re taking the hassle out of it.”
Oils
Lab-made Palm Oil | Clean Food Group
British biotech company Clean Food Group is aiming to shake up the oils category with a lab-made, sustainable alternative to palm oil. It uses “proven, scalable” yeast strains and fermentation tech, with food waste as a food source for the yeast, to “deliver sustainable alternatives to traditional oil and fat ingredients”. This resulting product – which has secured more than £2m in funding from private investors – performs very similarly to palm oil. It’s expected to hit the market by the end of 2025.
Oral Care
Ordo Sonic Lite | Ordo
Sonic toothbrush specialist Ordo added its lower-cost range in September. While Lite offers fewer brushing modes than the brand’s Sonic+ lineup, it’s 30% cheaper at £34.99 with no loss in performance. And it boasts a sleek design across six variants, including Petal, Ocean and Sage. “We have value engineered our bestselling Sonic+ to provide an even more affordable option for consumers new to electric brushing, particularly aimed at the younger generation,” says Ordo co-founder Barty Walsh.
Personal Care - Health
Skin Tone Condoms | Roam
‘Why has this never been done?’ asks Roam’s Marketing material for what it claims are the world’s first skin tone condoms. They launched in April, after the brand found nearly a half of Asian men and almost a third of black men would pick a condom closer to their skin colour. Light Brown, Medium Brown and Dark Brown are available in packs of 12, 24 and 36 (rsps: £14.99-£34.99). For every condom bought, Roam donates one to sexual health charity Brook.
Personal Hygiene
Body Wash | Wild
Having made a success of refillable deodorant, Wild turned its attention to the shower in September. Its refillable Body Wash bottles come in Black, Aqua and Pink (rsp: £12). They’re made from aluminium, while refills (rsp: £7) are packed in 70% bamboo starch and 30% plant starch from agricultural waste. Each refill bottle “will biodegrade faster than a banana peel”, Wild promises. Fragrances are Fresh Cotton & Sea Salt, Jasmine & Mandarin Blossom and Coconut & Vanilla.
Petfood
KatKin retail range | KatKin
KatKin began life as a DTC brand offering subscriptions of fresh catfood “made using 100% human-quality meats”. Founded in 2019, it last year raised $22m (£18m) in a funding round to expand its offer. And expand it has, with the rollout of a retail range to Ocado in October. It includes freeze-dried, all-meat treats and health-monitoring litter with colour-changing silica crystals to detect urinary and renal issues. The move marked “the next leap in Katkin’s expansion”, the brand said at the time.
Pizza
Ristorante Primo | Dr Oetker
Dr Oetker added a posher tier of its frozen Ristorante brand in August, in the hope of luring shoppers from chilled and out of home. Called Primo, it comprises the thin-crust duo Salame Piccante Nduja and Pollo Funghi Truffini (350g-380g). With an rsp of £4.40, they’re 15% pricier than the core Ristorante lineup. Primo, therefore, offers a “midway point” between standard Ristorante pizzas and “super-premium” frozen options from the likes of Zizzi and Crosta & Mollica, claims Dr Oetker.
Ready Meals
Side | Charlie Bigham’s
Here’s the final piece of the jigsaw for chilled ready meals’ biggest brand. Charlie Bigham’s released its six-strong Side range in May, exclusively with Tesco. Chunky Chips, Cauliflower Cheese, Potato Dauphinoise, Green Vegetable Medley, Aloo Gobi and Bombay Potatoes (rsp: £4/210g-450g) have joined the brand’s mains and desserts. Which means shoppers can now pick up a complete meal solution as “a one-stop alternative” to takeaways and dining out, Bigham’s says.
Rice, Noodles & Pasta
Noodlehead | Veetee
Best known for its rice, Veetee made its noodle debut in June with the release of Noodlehead. The HFSS-compliant range of fresh, al dente noodles with vegetables and sauce comes in a microwaveable pouch. Ready to eat in 60 seconds, the range comprises Singapore, Sweet Chilli, Chow Mein, Bang Bang, and Szechuan flavours (rsp: £2.50/200g). They’re targeted at young professionals and students “seeking out convenience and exotic flavours”, according to Veetee.
Savoury Pastries
Higgidy frozen range | Samworth Brothers
Since its debut in 2003, Higgidy has built a strong presence in the chillers with its posh savoury pastries. In September this year, the brand made a landmark leap into frozen. Four pie and quiche SKUs landed in Waitrose – each in a two-pack. The lineup comprises Roasted Pepper & Basil Quiche (rsp: £5), Chicken & Creamy Leek Pie, British Steak Pie, and Roasted Butternut Squash & Feta Pie (rsp: £5.95). Early signs suggest the new lines are proving popular with consumers, says Higgidy.
Soft Drinks
Gut Lovin’ Soda Orange | Hip Pop
This premium fizzy drink from Hip Pop bagged a gold medal at The Grocer New Products & Packaging Awards 2023. And deservedly so. Not only is it refreshing and beautifully packaged, it’s also a healthier choice. Each can of Gut Lovin’ Soda Orange (rsp: £1.99/330ml) contains probiotics, a quarter of your daily prebiotic fibre, less than 2.5g of sugar per 100ml and zero sweeteners. “Our orangeade is like a party in a can,” claims Hip Pop. It’s hard to disagree.
Soup
Heinz Classics | Kraft Heinz
When the time came to grow its Classics range, Heinz turned to Facebook to ask users what variants they wanted. The result was the October launch of Broccoli & Stilton, Spicy Parsnip, French Onion and Chicken Broth (rsp: £1.70/400g). “Our fans have been keen to see these flavours brought to supermarket aisles and love adding variety to their meals,” says Heinz meals & insights director Alessandra de Dreuille. It followed the rollout of Creamy Tomato Soup Plant-based at the start of the year.
Spirits
Jack Daniel’s & Coca-Cola | CCEP
Jack Daniel’s & Coca-Cola made a big splash, bagging almost £17m since its spring launch. Comprising regular and Zero Sugar lines (rsp: £2.30/330ml), the 5% abv duo is co-branded, featuring JD’s and Coke’s logos prominently on front of pack. The new RTDs replaced the own-label ‘cola’ range that debuted in 1991. Brits would be “more likely to pick up the new Coca-Cola co-branded RTD SKU” than the original canned cocktail, distributor CCEP said in March. It’s hard to argue with that.
Table Sauces
Tingly Ted’s | Kraft Heinz
This collaboration between Kraft Heinz and Ed Sheeran was four years in the making. The pair first teamed up in 2019 for a campaign based on the singer’s love of Heinz Tomato Ketchup. The next partnership saw Tingly Ted’s debut in February in Tingly and Xtra Tingly (£3 per 265g) – made with red jalapeño and capsicum chillies. Sheeran says he wants a hot sauce that “goes with everything” and could “take the same pride of place” as his beloved ketchup. Feel the burn!
Yoghurts
Brekkie | The Collective
In October, The Collective added yoghurt pouches designed to form part of a healthy breakfast for kids. The on-the-go Brekkie range (rsp: £1.20/ 110g) is aimed at the one in 10 children who do not currently eat breakfast. Available in Blueberry and Banana, the lines are made with whole milk yoghurt, live cultures, wholegrain oats & fruit, and fortified with vitamin D. With just 7g of Sugar per pouch, the duo boasts a lower sugar content than other breakfast snacks, The Collective claims.
Vaping & Tobacco
Iqos Iluma | Philip Morris
A “step change” is coming to heated tobacco, claims Philip Morris, thanks to its Iqos Iluma range. Launched in September, it comprises Iqos Iluma Prime, Iqos Iluma and Iqos Iluma One devices. The main development is their “smartcore induction system”, which heats the tobacco stick via a magnetic heating system comparable to induction stove tops. Also crucial to the NPD is the rsp, the supplier says. The cheapest device, Iluma One, is just £39 and includes two packs of tobacco refill sticks.
Wine
Joy | Concha y Toro
Bright, attractive and distinctly fruity, Joy is Concha y Toro’s bid to convert young adults into wine drinkers. Designed to bring a “vibrant and sassy alternative” to the mainstream wine market, Joy is available in four SKUs – Fruity Rosé, Bright White, Juicy Red and Orange Spritz – and in 489 Asda stores. The range has an rsp of £7.50/75cl, and launched on promotion at a pound off. The wines are between 8% and 12% abv, don’t display grape varieties, and call for use in cocktails.
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